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Over the past fifteen years, there has been a surge in the number of talented young people wishing to make Israel their home. A great number of these brave young men and women begin their lives in Israel by serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as immigrant soldiers. Unfortunately, many of these soldiers, coming from countries with little or no Jewish and Israeli education, feel cut off from Israeli mainstream culture. To address this need, the Jewish Agency for Israel, in collaboration with the IDF, developed the Nativ program in 2002 specifically to facilitate the social integration of these new immigrants into Israeli society. Through the Nativ program, participants learn about their Jewish roots and heritage and strengthen their Jewish identity.